I never want to see Blake step on the court for the Lakers again. IIRC, Duhon was labeled as the worst PG in the league last year, I remember seeing a stat about it. If so, what does that say for Blake, that a guy rated so low, has a better 3 point shot, plays PG better and plays better defense?

Duhon actually looks like a backup PG, Blake not so much and he's always randomly has something going on with him.

Rule of Thumb at ClubLakers - Never encourage people to check your post history.

Interesting that Love sat out because of a "thumb" injury. Not that I'm reading into anything....but I seriously do NOT doubt Mitch Kupchak any more after the moves he swung this past summer. Kahn may be stupid enough to ship Love out of Minny for Gasol. If that happens...well i won't say anything yet...lol

FabFourLakers wrote:Interesting that Love sat out because of a "thumb" injury. Not that I'm reading into anything....but I seriously do NOT doubt Mitch Kupchak any more after the moves he swung this past summer. Kahn may be stupid enough to ship Love out of Minny for Gasol. If that happens...well i won't say anything yet...lol

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and star Kevin Love have been in periodic contact about the direction of the team. The pair met again this week, had a long talk, and Taylor said all is well.

Love, in a Yahoo Sports article in December, expressed frustration about the team's future. Since then, though, he has emphasized his desire to remain in Minnesota.

"I think Kevin and I are on the same page -- we've been on the same page -- so that's fine," Taylor said. "We're talking about going ahead. He wants to know how we're going to do next year, what we're going to do."

First, though, Taylor said, the Wolves (19-31 at the all-star break) have to get through this season.

"And see how it goes," he said.

Taylor told Love that it's important for the owner to find out, "at some point in time," if he can play toward the end of the season.

"Because that will give us some information," he said.

Love, a two-time all-star, hasn't played since fracturing his right hand Jan. 3 in Denver.

Taylor said his chat with Love "wasn't any big secret. We just talked about things. My concern is how is he coming, getting ready, his physical shape. He says he's doing all those things and I really believe him. He's hopeful (to return by) mid-March. It's up to the doctor, the trainers, how well he feels. I think it's important that we communicate."

Love, 24, has three years after this season on a $62 million, four-year contract he signed in 2012. There have been no talks orthoughts about extending the deal now.

"And I don't think he is (thinking that way), either," Taylor said. We've got to get him healthy. Kevin said he's really positive about playing here and staying here. That he has always said to me; he's always been positive with me."

Of the meeting, Taylor said, "I think he came in positive, and I think he went out positive."

As for the rest of the Wolves, who have lost 16 of their past 19 games, Taylor said, "We have a few injuries that might allow the players after the break to come back and be healthy, but still we've got Kevin and Chase (Budinger) and Brandon (Roy), and we're looking more at mid-March before they're ready. So it's still going to be tough after the break.

"There's not much we can do -- we're going to be short of players, and we've just got to play through that and hope these other guys can come back. But even if we get a couple guys back after the break to get healthy again, I think it will help."

The Wolves' myriad injuries have been tough on Taylor.

"It's been very discouraging," he said. "I had such high hopes, and we just keep racking up all these injuries."

Man, it would be great to have Kevin Love on this team. He's had an injury plagued year but when healthy he's something special. I don't think he's a franchise player. He's a great piece, though. If Dwight does re-sign, he'd be the ideal 4. The only drop-off is his defense. However, his great shooting & rebounding would make up for that.

I've been saying the Lakers are going to target him this summer with Pau's expiring. Would it be nice to trade for someone who isn't expensive? Of course. Would it be nice to spread Pau's wealth around? Sure. But when you've got a chance to bring in another young talent like Love to pair with Dwight...

When they're both healthy, they're seriously the greatest fit ever. If all we did this summer was re-sign Dwight and Clark, and trade Pau for Love...

Nash/Blake/DuhonBryant/MeeksArtestLove/ClarkHoward/Hill

That's a damn good start. See what you can get when you package Artest/Blake's expirings and try to bring in more young talent. Maybe Jamison is amicable to another shot since this one went so badly.

^ Howard would be insane to be dissapointed if the Lakers somehow managed to pull off Gasol for Love. We are talking about the best power forward and best center, in their prime years playing together. Dwight would be a fool, to not want Love here. Kobe would then be off the books after next year(or in 2015), and the money we will save with Kobe and Nash gone will allow us to get Kyrie Irving, once that rookie deal is up(you know Kobe is already recruiting here...let's be honest).

Irving-Love and Howard all have great personalities, and are extremely marketable. This would be the smart move going forward.

I do like John Wall, but he has the personality of a .....wall, and he shoots with the accuracy from the field of Stevie Wonder.

LAKEROC wrote:^ Howard would be insane to be dissapointed if the Lakers somehow managed to pull off Gasol for Love. We are talking about the best power forward and best center, in their prime years playing together. Dwight would be a fool, to not want Love here. Kobe would then be off the books after next year(or in 2015), and the money we will save with Kobe and Nash gone will allow us to get Kyrie Irving, once that rookie deal is up(you know Kobe is already recruiting here...let's be honest).

Irving-Love and Howard all have great personalities, and are extremely marketable. This would be the smart move going forward.

I do like John Wall, but he has the personality of a .....wall, and he shoots with the accuracy from the field of Stevie Wonder.

Your very first sentence..... replace Kobe Bryant with Love and then filter it through the first 4 months of this season.... I could see him being "disappointed" actually after experiencing his reactions/comments to playing with Nash, Kobe and Gasol....

At this point Howard seems more to be more interested in the brand "Dwight Howard" than the Laker Dwight Howard..... anything that tarnishes that brand is not viewed as a help to him it seems. I still think he has designs on a lifetime contract from Adidas and until he secures that he wants the stats and spotlight..... That's about the only explanation that makes sense because transforming into a player that fits with his team, sacrifices and works to better himself isn't what we have now....... and it seems light years away unfortunately.

"If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost." Winston Churchill

“The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present - and is gravely to be regarded."Dwight Eisenhower

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it"Thomas Sowell

LAKEROC wrote:^ Howard would be insane to be dissapointed if the Lakers somehow managed to pull off Gasol for Love. We are talking about the best power forward and best center, in their prime years playing together. Dwight would be a fool, to not want Love here. Kobe would then be off the books after next year(or in 2015), and the money we will save with Kobe and Nash gone will allow us to get Kyrie Irving, once that rookie deal is up(you know Kobe is already recruiting here...let's be honest).

Irving-Love and Howard all have great personalities, and are extremely marketable. This would be the smart move going forward.

I do like John Wall, but he has the personality of a .....wall, and he shoots with the accuracy from the field of Stevie Wonder.

whats gona stop Clev from matching Irving offer? In fact Clev would be able to offer MORE even if we had a max offer to give.

therealdeal wrote:I'm saying in 2015 if he hasn't already signed an extension.

I know that but he would be restricted and Clev could match the same scenario as Gordon. Clev isn't gona lose Irving for nothing, Hornets were supposedly shopping Gordon so at the very least Clev would go that route even if he demanded Clev not match like Gordon indicated with the Hornet after he signed offer sheet from Pho.

The new CBA is going to really put a damper on the top 10 players moving through free agency. A team would have to be nearly gutted to sign one of them and then would have little left to put anything around them.

The Max slot to re-sign is significantly more than to sign elsewhere and the sign and trade scenarios of the past decade are gone now as well.

Having more than one max player is going to be difficult going forward unless they are developed within.

During this "transition" period Miami and OKC are positioned like no other team and seemingly will dominate for the next few years until they have to dismantle.

Our only hope would be to trade the pieces we have now and stockpile talent and picks to build around Howard if ownership decides that he's the guy to hitch our wagon to. The whole 2014 FA thing seem like KG pipe at this point.......

"If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost." Winston Churchill

“The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present - and is gravely to be regarded."Dwight Eisenhower

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it"Thomas Sowell

therealdeal wrote:I'm saying in 2015 if he hasn't already signed an extension.

I know that but he would be restricted and Clev could match the same scenario as Gordon. Clev isn't gona lose Irving for nothing, Hornets were supposedly shopping Gordon so at the very least Clev would go that route even if he demanded Clev not match like Gordon indicated with the Hornet after he signed offer sheet from Pho.

Well I honestly see him asking to leave, that was my point. If he wants out, LA or NY would be his top destination spots. I can see him doing that for sure.

Through the decay and debris of a crumbling infrastructure, chasing the championship parade that never marches, the New York Knicks' recruitment to retain Carmelo Anthony comes with the promise to pursue Kevin Love into the franchise's 2015 salary-cap space.

LeBron James comes free too soon (2014), Kevin Durant too late (2016), and the best, biggest star available to New York has been validating management's wanderlust with an MVP-esque start to the Minnesota Timberwolves' season.

In a lot of ways, the Knicks are pursuing the illusion of a title with Anthony as their centerpiece. Nevertheless, they're unwavering in turning the franchise over to him. The plan had been a three-year window to chase a championship, but it turned into one season – if it was ever that a year ago. New York is pushing toward a fresh scapegoat, coach Mike Woodson, but the Knicks are a combustible blend whose struggles have far less to do with their coaching and far more to do with lousy ownership.

New York is back where it started with 'Melo in 2011, framing a future for him that looks so much better than the present. To re-sign Anthony upon his contract opt-out in July, the Knicks count upon the fact that they can still give him three things no one else can: a five-year, nearly $130 million extension; the bright lights of the Madison Square Garden marquee; and an expedited retooling plan.

Almost assuredly, Love will exercise his early termination option in two years and take a strong look at where the free-agent landscape stands with the T'wolves. He could re-sign a longer, richer deal with Minnesota, or chase big-market platforms in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and perhaps elsewhere.

The Knicks are buried in salary-cap hell through 2014, awaiting Amar'e Stoudemire ($23.4 million), Tyson Chandler ($14.3 million) and Andrea Bargnani ($12 million) to expire. The Knicks are sold on Love in 2015, sources tell Yahoo Sports, and they've already begun devising a strategy to lure him when the time comes.

The possibility of leaving the Knicks for the Los Angeles Lakers will be Melo's leverage until it no longer is, but as one source with knowledge of the process says: "Do you think 'Melo wants to be known for not winning titles in New York and L.A.?"

There are beloved ex-Knicks who never win titles – Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Larry Johnson – but those players don't exist in Lakers lore. If winning is an obsession to Anthony, let's be honest: He would've stayed in better shape, been a better leader and teammate in his career. Anthony would've used his organizational muscle to spare the franchise's wasting of a roster spot for J.R. Smith's younger brother as part of a sweetener to re-sign the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

Everyone wants to blame Creative Arts Agency for the packaging of the players, but Chris Smith, associated with a different agency two years ago, had been granted a guaranteed contract with the Knicks for the 2011-12 season. Only, Smith blew out his knee and received his $490,000 on the injured list. This was a stooge deal on New York's behalf, an embarrassment afforded a player, J.R. Smith, who doesn't deserve this kind of treatment.

"Glen Grunwald never wanted to do it, never felt right about it back then," one source with knowledge of the package deal said. "That call came from above him."

Within the Knicks coaching staff, they believe Chris Smith doesn't even have the talent to be an NBA Development League player – never mind worthy of a roster spot. One opposing GM called him "maybe the worst player in the history of the [NBA] summer league."

Perhaps that's harsh, but the Knicks need to sign a big man in the wake of Tyson Chandler's fractured leg, and Chris Smith's roster spot creates an obstacle.

In the end, the Knicks give Anthony everything he wants, including the recent hiring of his personal trainer, Idan Ravin. There is a complete disconnect between Ravin and the Knicks' coaching staff, who have little use for him, sources said.

Still, the Knicks coaches understand: From a wasted roster spot to a highly paid personal trainer who can act independently of the coaching staff's wishes, ownership makes it hard for good players to want to leave. And truth be told, ownership makes it hard to coach good players in New York. Take a look at model franchises in San Antonio, Miami and Indiana, and you'll see: This all makes winning harder, not easier.

Now, owner James Dolan has turned over the Knicks to Steve Mills as president and general manager. Only in the Knicks' parallel universe can an executive help run the franchise into the ground for a decade with Isiah Thomas, get fired, move into the financial sector, chase the National Basketball Players Association's top job and then, somehow, get his old job back – this time with more power.

The Knicks can afford to pursue the best basketball minds on the planet, and yet they recycle top executives with failed, unaccomplished or untested histories. Donnie Walsh and Grunwald had been exceptions, and yet ultimately they were run out of the GM job. This is why the Knicks are unable to build something sustainable, why they're forever chasing salary-cap space, chasing stars, chasing the illusion of contention.

Kevin Love is on deck to be recruited to New York in 2015, and that's among the reasons the Timberwolves are so determined to make deals to climb deep into the playoffs these next two years. Young Minnesota players Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved are available in deals for veterans to help these T'wolves now, league executives told Yahoo Sports.

The suitors promise to be plentiful for Love in two years, which is why the Knicks are already brainstorming his pursuit, sources said.

Between now and July free agency, the Love pursuit will be part of New York's hard sell to Anthony. The Knicks are a mess now, but the mirage never changes: always a salvation on the way at the Garden, always a championship parade headed down the Canyon of Heroes. With the Knicks able to pay $30 million more than everyone else on the market, with the Knicks affording him and his inner circle a full run of the Garden, make no mistake: Carmelo Anthony will want badly to believe them. Again.